A small wildlife pond in Jackson, MS

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A year ago this week, after months of research, including reading practically the entire archive of posts on this site about pond builds, I built a small pond.

It was my 50th birthday present to myself. I wanted a place that was in y backyard that was aesthetically beautiful and was also beneficial to wildlife. I didn't have much budget, so I knew I didn't have the resources to support koi or goldfish.

So I built a 12x6 pond, and it ranges from six to about 18 inches deep. I found a local concrete dealer who also sells riprap (think limestone rocks they use for bank stability on ditches) for about $50 a ton, and I bought $75 worth of rocks. I run a Harbor Freight fountain pump that circulates the water through a 20-gallon bog filter I made from a wine barrel liner. I get more sun than I want, but since I installed the bog filter this spring the water is clear enough to read through. I did add a few minnows to eat the algae and the snails.

I have less than $1000 in it, and most of that is EPDM liner and plants. It's hard to find pond plants here, and most water features here are heavily chlorinated pools. I wanted something more natural and low maintenance.

I'm grateful for this forum, and all the emotional labor you guys have put into building it. It was a huge resource for me.
 

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j.w

I Love my Goldies
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Hello frog44.gif
and welcome @hughlh
Very nice pond you made,looks so pretty and natural! Minnow's will gobble up the mosquito larvae too.
 

JRS

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Welcome to the forum! Thanks for sharing your experience building a very nice pond.
 
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What a beautiful wildlife pond! You did such a great job making it look natural and inviting...
 
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Looks natural no order to the rocks . Mixture of sizes and types. Me likes it . Hey Mikey
 
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I'll get to say those same words to the man who inspired me very soon. So I take that as quite the compliment thank you.
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
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Welcome to the forum!

Beautiful birthday pressie! Great job!
 

YShahar

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That's a beautiful pond! As for pond plants, a lot of the plants sold as house plants do fairly well in ponds. Things like impatiens, hostas, peace lilies...
 

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